According to Gartner higher PC, ultramobile and mobile phone ASPs will lead to 2017 end-user spending worth nearly $600 billion, a 2% increase, even if unit shipments are to remain essentially flat.

Gartner forecasts ASPs for computing devices and mobile phones will increase by 2% in 2017. The reasons boil down to two-- increasing component prices (mainly for PCs but also phones) and customer interest in value and higher quality phones overriding the want for a bargain.

"Across the world, the device market is becoming less price-sensitive," the analyst remarks. "Consumers and businesses are seeking better products that suit their lifestyles, rather than just opting for the cheapest products."

In fact, the analyst says end-user spending on mobile phones will reach $400 million in 2017, a 4.3% increase driven by customers replacing basic phones with better-quality and more feature-rich options from the improved portfolios of the likes of Huawei and Oppo. However one has to keep in mind such customers are mainly from emerging markets, and still stick with basic phones due to the leap to premium phones being out of reach for most.

"We expect users to continue to look for higher-value phones this year, which will lead to another rise in ASP," Gartner continues. " "The high-end smartphone ASP will continue to soar, given the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy 8 and the release of the 10th anniversary Apple iPhone later this year."

PC ASPs are also on the rise in 2017 (specifically by 1.4%), the result of increasing component costs, especially DRAM.

When it comes to shipments, PCs, ultramobiles and mobile phones are projected to total 2.3bn in 2017-- flat growth from 2016.

The Internet of Things (IoT), the term covering all non-PC, -tablet or -smartphone connected devices, will grow to 26 billion installed units by 2020 according to Gartner, growth of almost... Read more